In the spirit of Super Bowl XLVII, several NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have picked their winners in Sunday’s big game:

Brad Keselowski: 49ers — “My heart is with the Ravens. I would like to see Ray Lewis go out on top, but I think the 49ers will win the game.”

Jimmie Johnson: 49ers — “Being from San Diego, I rooted for the Chargers growing up, but I guess I’ll go with the 49ers since they are from California, too. I think it’s going to be a close game, though. With this being Ray Lewis’ last game, I think the Ravens are going to make it tough.”

Clint Bowyer: Ravens — “The Ravens are full of confidence and momentum and had some things go their way as well. Man, I’m telling you it’s going to be one heck of a game. And, oh by the way, I’m going down to watch it.”

Martin Truex Jr.: 49ers — “San Francisco has been pretty impressive. My buddy, David Akers, is their kicker and so I was excited to see him get the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. It’s been a few years since he’s went, so I’d like to see him win.”

Denny Hamlin: 49ers — “They’re just, I think, the better defensive team. I think the coach is slightly better — everything is slightly better. The quarterback (Colin Kaepernick) is dangerous on San Francisco.”

Danica Patrick: Ravens — “It’s going to be an exciting game. I’m going to be pulling for the Ravens since GoDaddy’s founder, Bob Parsons, is from Baltimore and it’s always fun to pull for a team that you have a personal connection with.”

Kevin Harvick: 49ers — “I am from California and I will be at the game to cheer on the 49ers.”

CHEATER, CHEATER

Michael Shank Racing has been fined $15,000, will forfeit its $35,000 prize money and has been stripped of 30 championship points after it was caught with illegal engine parts on its Daytona Prototype No. 60 Ford Riley at last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The penalty is the most severe in Grand-Am racing history.

The No. 60 Ford, the defending Rolex 24 champion going into the race, was being driven by A.J. Allmendinger, Ozz Negri, John Pew, Justin Wilson and Marcos Ambrose.

The team had an astounding third-place finish, coming from seven laps down to battle for the win in the late stages of the race.

“Grand-Am Road Racing has issued monetary and point penalties to the No. 60 Ford/Riley Daytona Prototype entry … as a result of a rule infraction discovered following the 24-hour season-opening Jan. 26-27 event at Daytona International Speedway,” Grand-Am officials said in a release. “The No. 60 was found in violation of Section 4-1.1 The engine was found with mechanical adjustments resulting in performance levels outside the documented maximums.”

Michael Shank said he and the team were taken by surprise at the infraction.

“We are as surprised about this as anyone,” he said. “This was an incredible team effort — not just from John, Justin, Ozz, Marcos, and A.J., but from the entire crew, as well as our partners at Roush Yates.

“We are very proud to work with Ford Racing, and we know that the guys will figure out what went wrong and make sure we are not in this position again. After having fought back from so far down to make it to the podium, it is hard to put into words how disappointing this is.”

FINISH LINES

Viper will return this year to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. SRT Motorsports accepted an invitation Friday from race organizers to field two SRT Viper GTS-Rs with Canadian driver Kuno Wittmer in the LM GTE Pro class on June 22-23. The Viper finished one-two at the 24 Heures du Mans in GTS class competition three consecutive years — 1998 to 2000 … Canada’s only Formula 1 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, will be back at the Grands Prix this season but as a colour commentator with Italian television network Sky Italia. Villeneuve, 41, was quoted this week by La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying: “Watching the races on TV, sometimes I would get angry about what others are saying. Now maybe someone will get angry at me.” … Fifteen-year-old Jesse Lazare, who signed this week to run several NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course events, will also race the full 2013 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship class in IndyCar’s Mazda Road to Indy for Pabst Racing Services. He will partner with Dalton Kellett, 19, of Stouffville, Ont., and American Jason Wolfe. … Speaking of the Super Bowl, Bill Romanowski, who played 16 seasons in the NFL, has signed on as a minority-owner of NASCAR Sprint Cup Swan Racing team. … Michigan governor Rick Snyder has declared Saturday Brad Keselowski Day throughout the state in a salute to his becoming the first Michigan-born driver to win NASCAR’s premier series.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.